tI love anything by Frank Peretti. The Oath, The Prophet, This Present Darkness and Piercing the Darkness are all terrific reads and excellent books. As you can guess, I was pretty excited to read Hangman’s Curse. Specifically written for teenagers and the first book in The Veritas Project series, it turned out to be quite different from what I expected. Elijah and Elisha (pronounced E-lee-sha) Springfield are not your average teenage twins. Along with their parents, they are the Veritas Project Team, a group secretly commissioned by the president of the United States to solve bizarre and unusual or mysterious occurrences. Using Judeo-Christian values, they are instructed not only to find out the how, but the why. tThe bizarre has certainly hit hard at Baker High School in what appears to be an epidemic of…insanity. Three football players are struck down with hallucinations, incoherent coma, and severe paranoia. Despite drug searches, strong security measures, and numerous attempts by the school to prevent it, nothing seems to be able to stop the “Abel Fry Syndrome.” School rumor has it that years ago a young man named Abel Fry hung himself after being bullied, and that he continues to haunt the school and seek his revenge. tElijah and Elisha enroll at Baker High School, fascinatingly portrayed during the lunch period as “one big noisy crowd” with “its subgroups and tribes”: the jocks, geeks, artists, bullies and “dark-clothed, bizarre-looking outcasts…formed a group by being different from everyone except each other.” Elijah gets into frequent debates with his teacher, especially over apologetics and truth. He stands up the bullies, and fits right in with the math geeks. Elisha gets involved with the artistic bunch, but also debates her teacher during class. tBullying, satanic rituals, and relative truth all go head to head in this fascinating story. What is truth and where can it be found? Hunting for clues, keeping grades up, and watching helplessly as more victims fall to the curse of Abel Fry, the Springfields’ have a mystery to solve that just might be their last.tHangman’s Curse has several interesting themes interwoven. In particular, redemption and courage, as the Springfields enter a world where survival of the fittest is the ruling order. Another theme is summed up by Elisha near the end, “People are precious and sometimes we forget that. They’re precious because God made them, and they need friends, they need love.”tNormally, I love Frank Peretti. His work is spell-binding, action packed, and spiritually revealing. Hangman’s Curse, though, seems to fall short of the mark with the plot. Perhaps because he was writing for teenagers, Peretti tried to water things down. Protagonists Elijah and Elisha are almost perfect, smart and popular, who quickly fit in and are liked by everyone, two Christian Hardy Boys. tAnother thing that bugged me was the lack of demonic influence over the school. Some of the Goth kids confess to being witches, a fact that is simply down played. Most of the characters, though round, lack dynamic.tThere were various things I did like, though. The writing was beautiful, and, though simple, the plot was not cliché or predictable. Peretti does not waver from the truth in God’s Word. I also enjoyed every time Elijah debated with his teacher, or stood up to a bully. The debates were a neat way to learn apologetics in an applicable, respectful way. t Frank Peretti has written over 23 books, fiction and nonfiction. He frequently deals with the issues of bullying and fitting in, something he struggled with in his childhood, as he reveals in The Wounded Spirit. Peretti was born in Canada, raised in Washington, and now lives in Idaho with his wife. He plays the banjo in a bluegrass band, writes “supernatural thrillers”, and has over twelve million copies of his work in print. tHangman’s Curse is an excellent book that was washed down for teenagers. Consequently, older teenagers and adults will probably find it lacking, but it is perfect for pre-teen and young teenagers. I will always recommend Peretti for a good read, but Hangman’s Curse is definitely for the younger audience.
This book is a very interesting one. I liked the action and the way the family is so close. This family works undercover to solve cases with the FBI. In Baker, Washington at a high school a boy kills hangs himself in a room at the top of the school. He was a goth nerd that got beat up by some of the jocks in the school. Rumor has it that his ghost is still at the school and is haunting those who bullied him. So the family goes down there and puts on a disguise and poses as everyday school people. The dad poses as a janitor, the mom poses as a vice principal, the son poses as a math nerd, and the daughter poses as a cool girl jock. They all fit in there clicks so see what information they can get to crack the case. My favorite character is Elijah because he is the person who figures out the case and he is the total opposite then what he acts. My least is the mom, because she doesn’t do anything and she is just there. To me she is just in the way. What got me to keep reading this was it was so interesting and mind bottling. I would always what to know what would come up next or who would die next or if something would happen to one of the twins. When I go done with the book I didn’t think that what was actually happening to everyone would be that. It was so random and yeah the kids should have known something like that was happing. It was like a set up but not really. The emo kids knew what and how it was all happening even though is kind of wasn’t them.
What do You think about Hangman's Curse (2003)?
Where do I begin? First off this book has great sentimental value, as it was one of the first books that really got me into recreational reading. I first read the book in 2008 at the age of 9, and have read it several times since then. The compelling characters and suspenseful plot allowed this Christian thriller to become a real page turner. Being a Christian myself, I truly appreciated how Frank Peretti (now one of my favorite authors) wove the message and truth of Christ into an mystery-filled youth novel. It is so hard to find exciting, clean, teen fiction now-a-days without anything scandalous or perverted hidden in them. I recommend this novel to any and all young adults interested in books involving (to quote the book) "strange mysteries, crimes, and unusual occurrences." This is Emily Person and i approve this book review.
—Emily Person
I had seen this movie when I was in Jr. High, and I remember absoloutley loving the movie. Before I began reading this book, I didn't remember anything about the movie, though. So I was excited to be reminded of such a great story. I was very disappointed though. Maybe I enjoyed the movie more because I was a child, and the story seemed more exciting.When I was reading the book, I did think that it was written more for children. I didn't know that going into the book, but it really seemed lie it during it. If I read this when I was around 12, I probably would have liked the book a lot more. It was a good story, and the end really was a shocker. I didn't remember that all during the movie. I didn't expect it at all! I give the book two stars, because I liked the parts when Peretti talked about God and Christianity. I think that was deff. cool that there was a horror book with a Christian background. That is very rare!Also, the story was great with an awesome twist. There was just something about the book that I didn't like very much. Peretti seems like a great author though, and I will for sure look for more of his books!
—Elizabeth
. This book is an amazing story about the Veritas (Truth) Project. It is one of the most action packed christian books I have ever read by Frank Perreti. The story is about a family of four who are hired by the pesident to find the truth in different struggles using God's way to figure them out. They teach that they use God's word and that's the only truthfull way to solve a case. The amazing story tells about a curse of an old student who hung himself and his spirit, or satan's demons, are getting in to all the students who beleive in the creepy, eerie, and gross story. The family of four , the Springfields, have to figure out what's going on before things are to late and before life as they know it comes to an end. 5 star rating. NO DOUBT. I recomend this to ALL mistery/ghost readers. Also recomended for ages 11 and up. Frank Peretti created an amazing homerun on this one.
—Freudinger09
